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PHOENIX — Three U.S. Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona fatally shot a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation several times after the man threw an object toward a police officer and abruptly extended his right arm away from his body, according to new details released late Monday.
Agents from the Ajo Border Patrol Station, shot and killed Raymond Mattia outside of his home in the Meneger’s Dam community of the Tohono O’odham Nation near Ajo, Arizona, at 9:39 p.m. local time on May 18, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department had requested assistance from Border Patrol to respond to a shots fired call west of the Meneger’s Dam community, which is about a mile north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mattia was two feet from his front door when he was shot approximately 38 times, according to a report from Tucson TV station KVOA. Mattia had called the Border Patrol because he had multiple migrants trespassing in his yard and he wanted help getting them off his property, KVOA reported.
CBP has not confirmed the number of times Mattia was shot.
One police officer and at least 10 Border Patrol agents were present for the shooting, according to new details released late Monday in a written CBP statement. All 10 agents activated their body cameras during the shooting, per CBP.
Rob Daniels, a CBP spokesperson, only said that the investigation is ongoing when reached for comment by The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. The FBI and Tohono O’odham Nation police are also investigating the fatal shooting.
Agents administered CPR to Mattia after they couldn’t detect a pulse and requested air life medical evacuation. But due to inclement weather, there was no air life evacuation available.
Mattia was pronounced dead at 10:06 p.m.
The incident is the second fatal shooting by agents in the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector in three months. The sector has the highest number of use-of-force incidents across the agency, with 158 incidents reported so far in fiscal year 2023, per CBP data.
The Tohono O’odham Nation is the second largest reservation in Arizona in both population and geographical size, occupying nearly 3 million acres with about 28,000 members, according to the tribal nation’s website.
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Timeline of shooting
Several agents from the Ajo Border Patrol Station responded to a request for assistance from the Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department for shots fired call at 9:04 p.m. local time on May 18.
After parking near Mattia’s home, a police department officer and Border Patrol agents spread out while searching for a man, according to CBP. At 9:39 p.m., the officer and agents encountered Mattia outside of his home, about 103 meters northwest of their parked vehicles.
Mattia threw an object toward the police officer as agents approached the home, CBP said. The object, which is unclear what it was, landed a few feet in front of the officer.
Shortly after Mattia threw the object, he “abruptly” extended his right arm away from his body, CBP said.
Three agents shot Mattia several times before he fell to the ground, according to CBP.
Agents gave Mattia CPR after not detecting a pulse and requested air life medical evacuation before being told it was not available because of inclement weather. A Tucson physician, who was called by a Border Patrol emergency medical technician on the scene, pronounced Mattia dead at 10:06 p.m.
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office assumed custody of Mattia’s body pending an autopsy.
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Family outraged over the shooting
Mattia was identified by tribal chairman Ned Norris Jr. said in a statement on May 21 and declined to comment further on the case due to the ongoing investigation.
“Nation member Raymond Mattia lost his life in the incident. Our hearts go out to his family and all those impacted during this difficult time,” Norris said. “As the investigation proceeds, the Nation expects full consideration of all related facts of the incident and an appropriate and expeditious response from relevant public safety agencies.”
KVOA reported that Mattia’s family is outraged over the shooting and wants answers.
Family members, who asked not to be identified, told KVOA that Mattia was shot 38 times after he called for Border Patrol assistance.
“He called to request for assistance because there were multiple illegal immigrants who had trespassed into his yard and he wanted assistance getting them out of his property,” a family member told KVOA.
The family told the station that Mattia went outside after seeing the agents. They also alleged he was suddenly shot when he was just two feet away from his front door.
“They told us there was an estimated 38 shots fired at him. You know that’s excessive and we want justice and we want to know what happened and why there were so many Border Patrol out there shooting at him,” a family member said.
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A ‘well-respected’ member of nation
KVOA reported that Mattia was a “well-respected member of the Tohono O’odham community.”
Ophelia Rivas, a family friend, called Mattia a law-abiding citizen, artist, singer, and traditional hunter. “He was not an aggressive kind of man, he was not violent,” Rivas told KVOA.
Rivas said she and other members of the nation are angry. People on social media have also shared their anger over the incident, aiming their criticism toward Border Patrol.
“I have dealt with Border Patrol aggression and unmonitored behavior out here on Tohono O’odham land without any regard to the respect and to the land and to the people,” Rivas told KVOA.
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Agents on leave as FBI investigates shooting
The medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy on May 19, the day after the shooting. The office will release further information about the cause and manner of death at the conclusion of its review.
The agents involved in the shooting are on administrative leave, which is standard practice following the use of deadly force. CBP said the agency is committed to the release of the body camera footage of the shooting as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.
It took nearly a month for CBP to release the body camera footage of the Border Patrol shooting near Sasabe in March. The shooting was ruled a homicide by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The shooting is under review by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and will be reviewed by CBP’s National Use of Force Review Board at the conclusion of the investigation.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also was notified about the fatal shooting.
Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.
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